While the information cycle (the process whereby information is produced, validated, shared and re-created in other forms) has more or less stayed the same, it's the way each process is carried out that has drastically changed across time.

Thanks to technology improvements, producing information is now a whole lot easier. Blogs, podcasts, videos allow everyone to create content with minimum effort. And to validate and share information there are plenty of social services to have others consume, re-distribute and even remix your stuff to add additional value.

What seems to be very important then, is not to focus on transient tools that produce information (as they will change frequently), but rather on the information process itself, which should be the real concern of those wanting to share knowledge and reform education paradigms.

eLearning Resources and News

learning, networks, knowledge, technology, trends

by George Siemens

Social Learning and Emerging Technology

I've been exploring different technologies for presentations. I've tried PersonalBrain - I like the tool for brainstorming and personal information management. I haven't found it as useful for presentations.

More recently, I've been looking at Prezi. It's an interesting tool that does away with the slide focus of PowerPoint. And adds zooming eye candy.

Five Questions: eLearn Magazine

I emphasized the need for the design of organizations to reflect the ways in which information is created, shared, and re-created.

What Does It Mean to Be "a Human"?

Somewhere between technological advancement as a tool to augment human intelligence and pharmaceuticals to improve focus and alertness, we have to ask ourselves: what does it mean to be a human? Or do we classify all advancements as simply extending humanity?

We have, after all, expended much of our effort over the last 3000 years building tools to extend the physical limitations of the human body. Are we any less human when we use technology (and pharmaceuticals) to extend our mind? Can we view technology as a means to perfect the human mind?

Brain Gain paints a somewhat depressing picture of using cognitive enhancers in college and work.

Will the academic world eventually have it's own "baseball steroids" scandal? Or are the rules different when we apply enhancement to cognition instead of running / hitting / jumping / swimming?

New Criteria for New Media

What is the value of being active in new media?

If you're an educator or researcher, is there any value in having a presence on Twitter? In being an active blogger? Does a series of self-published articles have any merit (i.e. in contrast to traditional peer review)?

Re-creation - when resources are licensing to permit it - occurs through mashups and repurposing content in various media and languages.

Information is now mutable, participatory, democratic, and rapidly re-created. It is here that we should be building a new model of education. Not on the "Web 2.0" tools that are at best and instantiation of these trends (and at worst deceptive in ignoring core changes while pursuing "shiny new objects").

Originally written by George Siemens for elearnspace and first published on April 24th 2009 in his newsletter eLearning Resources and News.